Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Numbers 27:14 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 14. 14For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Numbers 27:14 within “Moses Is Told to View the Land and Prepare to Die,” marks where authority is questioned, shared, corrected, or transferred; in lightly modernized wording, the clause reads: For you rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.
Moses may see the land he will not enter
This verse is one part of that explanation in Numbers 27:12–14. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Numbers 27:12–14
Read Numbers 27:14 with 27:12–14. It within “Moses Is Told to View the Land and Prepare to Die,” marks where authority is questioned, shared, corrected, or transferred; in lightly modernized wording, the clause reads: For you rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. The complete unit establishes this contextual meaning: The LORD tells Moses to ascend Abarim, see the land, and be gathered to his people as Aaron was because both rebelled at Meribah instead of sanctifying God before the congregation.
What Remains True
Because Numbers 27:14 within “Moses Is Told to View the Land and Prepare to Die,” marks where authority is questioned, shared, corrected, or transferred; in lightly modernized wording, the clause reads: For you rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, its proportionate enduring truth is this: Healthy authority shares burden, hears petitions, names failure, plans succession, and does not confuse appointment with exemption from review. This unit also keeps the following boundary explicit: Moses' approaching death does not reveal why another person dies, permit leaders to hide failure, or make exclusion from one goal the measure of a whole life.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Numbers 27:12–14 — Moses Is Told to View the Land and Prepare to DieSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Numbers 27:12–14, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Numbers
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, release 2.2, 2021
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, numbers, speeches, poems, legal clauses, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Num.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 27:12–14
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Numbers with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, source files dated 2026-08-08
Supports: Unit-bounded translation, syntax, lexical, ritual, legal, number, name, poetic, and selected textual notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Numbers PDF, complete 134-page PDF, translation and translator notes attached to 27:12–14
Open source ↗